Come to Canada! Part 2- Vancouver Island

No, I’m really kidding, those two words are Vancouver Island (But I will get back to Tim Hortons later on in this post)! So if you’ve read my blog on Ireland, you would know how I loved the sight of flying in over Ireland and the greenery and how pretty it is. Well, my other favourite place to fly over (that I’ve come across so far!) is definitely Vancouver Island!

Victoria, Vancouver Island

So it’s the end of an 18 hour trip from Australia to Vancouver, and the last leg of the journey is a 15 minute flight in a tiny plane from Vancouver Airport to Victoria Airport. The two times that I’ve flown it, it has been about 10am, Summer, the sun’s up, and luckily for me, it was completely cloudless!!

What I love about flying over Vancouver Island are the little quirks, like houses with awesome architecture, as well as all the farms that look like they’re just toys. Then you’ve got all the hidden lakes, and the flowers covering the countryside! Then you get to Victoria Airport, and it’s one of the cutest airports that I’ve ever landed at, because it has hanging baskets of flowers on either side of the entrance/exit to the terminal. And out the front of the terminal it has massive totem poles!

But before I go any further, let’s address Tim Hortons. So it’s like…$1.50 for a cup of coffee, or a smoothie. That’s just crazy! And bagels! Don’t even get me started! You’ve just gotten off a 14 hour direct flight from Sydney to Vancouver, not to mention the flight time it takes you to get to Sydney. And then, it’s like you’ve died and gone to heaven. It’s like you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s my reaction to Tim Hortons. And literally, there’s one on pretty much every street corner all over Canada, so I get that reaction pretty often! And then Starbucks is across the street (but let’s face it, Starbucks is like the annoying little brother of Gloria Jeans in Australia, so it’s definitely worse than Tim Hortons), and they have DRIVE. THROUGH. COFFEE. SHOPS! Like WHAT?!

Victoria, Vancouver Island

So I’ve been the Vancouver Island twice, for the Dwight Global Leaders Academy. Definitely one of the more awesome experiences of my life, because it’s a two week intensive academy which teaches you all these practical leadership skills, and you make heeeeaps of friends from all around the world!

But during the Academy, they take you all over Vancouver Island, which is gorgeous!

I, personally, love the city of Victoria in Canada. It has hanging baskets of flowers from all the light posts, and topiary, and cobblestone streets! And it’s right beside the water, so there’s always something going on! I’ve been to the Royal BC Museum twice and really enjoyed both times! There are sooo many exhibits and if you get to Victoria, definitely give it a go because there is something for everyone.

Buchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

And Buchart Gardens! Ohmygosssssh! Love them so much! This post seems to be really turning into me describing my obsession with pretty flowers, but it’s legitimate! These gardens are the biggest flower gardens that I’ve ever been to, combining so many different types of flowers, water features, totem poles and even a carousel! But one of the most amazing things about Buchart Gardens is the firework display on…I think it’s every Saturday? It’s the biggest firework display that I’ve ever seen, with soooo many different types of fireworks, both on the ground and in the air, and it all happens in time to music!! So awesome!

Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island

If you get a chance when you’re on Vancouver Island, definitely visit Shawnigan Lake! It’s absolutely gorgeous and you can swim in it, just by the way! I also really enjoyed swimming in the pools at Little Qualicum Falls, even though it was freezing.

There is so much more I could say about Vancouver Island. I’ve been to barely any of it, because it’s such a massive island, but I’d love to visit more, definitely! Visit in the Summer, because it’s a perfect temperature and the sun stays up until 9 or 10pm.